Nuclear spring round the corner, says PM

JYOTI MALHOTRA

New Delhi, August 22, 2007 : For the first time in nearly two weeks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh smiled publicly and said he hoped the worst phase of the standoff with the Left parties could soon be over.

The PM, sitting next to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in Hyderabad House this evening, indicated more than once that the government was determined to go ahead with negotiating the next steps on the nuclear deal.

Such as a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, possibly in October, and subsequently an India-specific waiver with the 45-member Nuclear Supplies Group, perhaps in November. After both these steps, and according to the government’s original time-table, the deal would be put before the US Congress for a final yes-no vote.

Whether or not the Left parties were watching the PM speak at Hyderabad House is not known. Or whether both sides were actually working on a real compromise that would help blow over the storm currently destabilizing the government.

Clearly, the PM was, once again, sending his own message to the Left parties, considering the airwaves, over the last fortnight, have largely belonged to them.

Asked how he was so confident of going forward with the nuclear deal, considering the Left parties were determined to obstruct it, the PM said with a smile : ``That is a very naughty question, but I will try and answer it.’’

The PM added : ``There is some turbulence, but I am confident that we shall be able to overcome it.’’

That’s when Shelley’s `Ode to the West Wind’ came to the PM’s aid. ``When spring comes,’’ he said, ``can spring be far behind.’’

The PM went on to add that he hoped Japan would support India’s case at the NSG, indicating that Delhi was not backing down in the face of the Left demand that India stop contemplating negotiations with the IAEA and then the NSG.

Reiterating that India and the US had reached an agreement on civil nuclear issues, the PM said, several stages still remained for the deal to become operational. Such as a safeguards agreement with the IAEA and subsequently, a meeting with the NSG to grant an India-specific waiver.

``My sincere hope is that when the matter comes before the NSG, we will have the support of the Japanese government,’’ he said.

The Japanese prime minister played his part in the drama. Abe pointed out that nuclear weapons and nuclear explosions evoked enormous feeling in his country. However, he added, Tokyo realised that it was ``indispensable for India to have energy if it had to maintain growth rates, especially clean energy like nuclear energy.’’

Moreover, he pointed out, if India got approval from the IAEA, then that would certainly address the concerns of the international community as well as Japan.

ENDS